Siri is finally getting the big AI upgrade Wall Street has been waiting for. But it’s just the beginning.
Apple on Monday announced Siri AI, a major revamp the company hopes will thrust its roughly 15-year-old digital assistant into the spotlight alongside OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. The new assistant, which will launch in beta later this year, will help operate apps, analyze an iPhone’s screen to answer questions and incorporate personal context into responses, the company said.
After falling behind in the AI race, Apple has been under pressure over the past couple of years to prove it has a plan to catch up. The company will soon have to prove it can leverage its AI assistant to drive iPhone upgrades, boost services revenue and power new types of products. But perhaps the most important question for investors is: Can Apple, a company known for turning nascent technologies into blockbuster products, convince people to pay for AI?
“Updates felt more evolutionary vs revolutionary, and we continue to view (Apple) as a laggard in AI with no killer apps and a questionable monetization strategy,” Barclays analysts wrote in a research note following Apple’s event.
Apple did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on its monetization plans for Siri AI and Apple Intelligence.
